To bring an additional relief to composition taxpayers, the Finance ministry has recently updated a new notification which quotes ‘All businesses opting for composition scheme will from now does not have to file details of purchases made by them from registered vendors while filling their quarterly return GSTR-4.

Looking at the previous tax filling issue of composition taxpayers, the ministry said that there always been a matter of doubt in composition taxpayers related to filling of their quarterly returns including specification of purchases made and the auto-populated data received from registered vendors.

Specifying a final verdict on the reporting of purchase entries, the ministry in a statement reported ‘In this regard, it is to be clarified that taxpayers opted for composition scheme shall not have to furnish data in Serial number 4A which gives details of purchases made from registered vendors in Table 4 of the GSTR-4’.

As per government updated records, at present more than 18 lakh businesses are registered under the GST composition scheme of government. While it distinct the small, medium and large enterprises for GST implications, it also brings an advantage to them in terms of tax payments and maintenance of detailed business records. To register under the GST composition scheme one has to:

– have to an annual turnover of business below Rs 1 Crore. (Specified Rs 75 lakh for some northeastern states)

– have no business with the interstate movement of goods.

– have no business of GST exempted goods.

Like any other registered dealer under GST, in composition scheme one has:

– to pay taxes at a fixed rate defined at the official web portal of GSTN.

– to show the total value of supplies made in a specified period while filling GSTR -4.

– to file a quarterly return GSTR-4 of business by 18th of the preceding month of the quarter.

– to file an annual return GSTR-9A of all business transactions made, by 31st December of the next financial year.

While the due date for filling GSTR-4 for July – Sept 2018 quarter was 18th October , if one has lapsed the due date for filling the GSTR-4 return he can still file it on the official guest portal by paying an additional fine of Rs 50 per day i.e. including Rs 25/- day for CGST and Rs 25/-per day for SGST ( in case of tax liability) and Rs 20/- per day being Rs 10/-day each for CGST and SGST (for nil tax liability) up to a maximum of Rs 5000/-.